Fairy Garden Small World Play — Play Beyond The Lines

When fairies and small worlds come together, it is always a magical time. While waiting for the weather to warm up we couldn’t wait to break out our new fairy garden items. So we created a small world in a tray. This play tray brought the magic of a fairy garden inside to enjoy.

Set up:

There really are no right or wrong ways to set up a small world. The rule of thumb I try to follow is to provide a variety of materials in a way that will draw the kids in. They will rearrange or set up the small world how they see fit either way. In fact, I LOVE seeing their imagination ignite and watch how they interact and move things around. The benefit of setting up a small world in a tray is it provides natural boundaries. This particular play tray was set up on a small children’s table and the play remained mostly in the tray. A few items were placed on the table but mainly to temporarily move them out of the way.

The play tray seen here was made up of items found mostly at the The Dollar Tree. The gnomes, fairies, houses, and moss all came from there. I began by covering the bottom of the play tray with the moss. I arranged the houses around the edge then added a rock path. I included extra rocks in case they could find a use for them in play. Then the fairies, gnomes and animals were added as well.

This is pretty much where the adult role ends. I have been coaxed into playing with a little one but I typically take their lead in how the play unfolds. We plan to take our small world and set it up in a flowerbed outside. This will be a small world we can keep set up all summer long.

We recently discover the book Little Witch Hazel: A Year in the Forest by Phoebe Wahl. It has been a wonderful companion to the small world play. We plan on visiting the library for more fairy and gnome books soon. Do you have any favorite fairy or gnome books? Share your recommendations in the comments below.